How Wise Wolfe turned Albuquerque into Pittsburgh

By Ben Ikenson

Last year, a television and film location scout found himself in Albuquerque with a mission that could justifiably be considered a location scout’s worst nightmare—to make places here look like scenes from, of all places, Pittsburgh, Penn. The towns are as distant aesthetically as they are geographically.

Burque makes a name for himself

By Marisa Demarco

It's hard to characterize Albuquerque. Some days, the politicians and headlines depict a city ready to modernize, courting businesses and industry found in real cities. But there's the rub. If Burque were a man, he'd have a pretty big little-dude complex.

Answers on the city’s new animal ordinance

By Christie Chisholm

The laws of living with pets changed for Albuquerqueans on Oct. 10 of last year, the day the city’s HEART ordinance went into effect. Yet the real deadline for the legislation is still a few days away, on April 10, when the six-month grace period for the new rules will expire. The legislation—which stands for Humane and Ethical Animal Rules and Treatment—requires a number of actions from pet owners within Albuquerque city limits: They must have their dogs and cats spayed or neutered or else buy annual “intact permits” for their pets that allow them to go unscathed; owners must have their pets microchipped or tattooed; and if their pets are going to have babies, owners will have to purchase litter permits from the city, set with a six-month expiration date.

Oppressive talkers might consider shutting up every now and then

By Jessica Cassyle Carr

Imagine this: You're surrounded by people you barely know. The conversation turns to a subject to which you can contribute. You're a shy person, and mustering the courage to speak around unfamiliar people involves a considerable amount of anxiety. There's a break in the banter, you finally begin to speak, but in the midst of what you're saying some dolt interrupts you, keeps talking and makes no amends for the discourtesy he or she has created. You feel humiliated and annoyed.1

Dateline: Gaza Strip--A woman who guards described as “strangely fat” was stopped and searched at the Gaza-Egypt border crossing last Thursday. Alerted by the woman’s unusual shape, a female border guard at the Rafah terminal searched the woman and found three crocodiles strapped to her waist. The animals, each about 20 inches in length, were concealed beneath a loose robe. Though it did not ultimately involve terrorism, the incident sparked a panic at the crossing. “The policewoman screamed and ran out of the room, and then women began screaming and panicking when they heard,” said Maria Telleria, a spokesperson for the European observers who run the crossing station. Still, “everybody was admiring a woman who is able to tie crocodiles to her body.” The animals, which were eventually returned to the Egyptian side of the border, were most likely intended for sale to Gaza’s small zoo or to private collectors.

Regarding your cover story on the local geology of Albuquerque [Feature, “Naturally Disastrous,” March 29-April 4], Fred Lawrence does seem to have reasonable knowledge of the subject. However, there is no Professor Fred Lawrence in the Earth and Planetary Sciences department at UNM Albuquerque, nor is there anyone of that name listed in the main directory. I also checked all other UNM campus directories and could find no reference to any Fred Lawrence anywhere, much less in geology.

Tahitian Dance Workshop

By Mayo Lua de Frenchie

Don't get it twisted. Tahitian dance is not the hula. Tahitian dance is centered around the hips for storytelling instead of the hands, and it's from … wait for it … Tahiti, not Hawaii. This style, also called 'Ori Tahiti, is a far more aggressive style in most cases, especially from the male dancers. Shock. Kellie Villicano of the Ka Lā Kapu Polynesian Dance School brings this Tahitian Dance Workshop…